Blog Post

Water is a highly abundant, necessary part of life not just for humans, but for everything that lives on the planet. Making up about 60% of your total body weight and covering 71% of the Earth’s surface, water is in constant need and constant use. 

In addition to the water that you carry in your body all the time, the water you ingest is vital for flushing out waste, lubricating joints and other tissue, and helping you to maintain a normal body temperature.

Dehydration is when your body doesn't get the water you need to live, resulting in you enduring a number of symptoms and related conditions that affects your long-term health. 

If you live in the Houston or Spring, Texas, area and you’re struggling with dehydration or other urgent needs, our dedicated medical staff at Houston Medical ER can help.

Let’s look at the signs of dehydration by exploring the basics of the condition, its causes and contributing factors, and what you should look out for if you think you’re dealing with it.

Understanding dehydration

On average, your body needs a daily intake of about 11.5-15.5 cups of water, combined with the fluids you drink and the amount of fluid in the foods you eat (though this amount varies by age). 

Getting and retaining the amount of water you need to live and function normally is a bit of a balancing act, and dehydration is the result of losing more fluid than you take in. It can affect people of any age and can happen for a wide variety of reasons, but is especially risky for the very young and the very old. 

Causes and contributing factors

The reasons for dehydration include:

Infections and disease

Illnesses, especially chronic conditions, often contribute to dehydration and can include:

• Diabetes
• Kidney disease
• Stomach viruses
• Influenza 
• Other conditions that cause your body to vacate fluids through diarrhea or vomiting

Working or overexerting outdoors

Labor and exercise are fine, but working yourself to exhaustion in the heat or engaging in other intense physical activity under the hot sun can lead to excessive sweating and exposing yourself to an increased risk of heatstroke.

Dietary and lifestyle choices

While alcohol is a fluid, it’s not something that helps keep you hydrated. In fact, it decreases the amount of an antidiuretic hormone in your body, leading to more urinating and a faster rate of dehydration. 

Also, low sodium diets can affect how well you retain water. Not getting enough fluids during meals makes digestion harder.

Very young children have problems knowing when to drink water and often can’t get it for themselves. Older people lose more water as their ability to build fluid reserves decreases over time. You can also lose an excess amount of fluids while breastfeeding.

Symptoms to look out for

Here are the signs of dehydration that should should be aware of:

Lightheadedness

The fluid imbalance in your body from this condition causes dizziness and can lead to fainting.

Constipation

Lack of water when eating omits a valuable aid in digesting, making it harder to pass stools. 

Fatigue

Not having enough water also affects your energy levels, leaving you feeling weak and tired.

Dark urine 

Water is essential to urination, and without enough of it to flush out and remove waste, your urine will appear darker.

Confusion 

In addition to feeling faint, lack of water can also leave you confused and delirious.

Severe problems with lack of water in your body can lead to many worse issues, like electrolyte imbalances, kidney stones, kidney failure, shock, and even death.

Water is vital to life, so make sure you’re getting as much as you need. If you’re having symptoms of dehydration, visit Houston Medical ER today to get the help you need.